My Body Has Been Possessed By Someone - Chapter 101

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 101
* * *
I hurried to open the window for the pitiful Claude Azel.
“Come in quickly, Claude.”
“I appreciate your kindness.”
Claude entered the room without hesitation, drenched from head to toe without a single dry spot.
“You must be exhausted, Claude.”
“It was nothing.”
Claude dried his wet hair with the towel I offered, then shook his head vigorously like a puppy to shake off the water.
“Duchess.”
“Yes?”
“The Lord of Paeylon’s daughter.”
“Yes.”
“Shall I behead her?”
“Not this again?”
“Indeed. If you’re concerned about cleaning up afterward, there’s no need. I can handle it without anyone knowing.”
Why did he keep suggesting beheading? I made my refusal clear and firm.
“No. That’s not necessary.”
“Then what about cutting out that wretched tongue of hers? It’s been unbearable to listen to.”
Claude spoke with absolute sincerity, his expression perfectly composed.
“For the daughter of some provincial island lord to dare speak such nonsense.”
“Indeed… quite true.”
“Of course. If Lord Kalen learned of this, he would not remain idle.”
His words were far too violent to match his boyishly innocent face.
He smiled brightly as he made his proposal.
“So why not bring me Rachel’s tongue instead? As proof that I’m protecting you well.”
“Don’t joke with me.”
I was beginning to distinguish between his jests and his sincerity. Perhaps that last remark was a joke.
“I’m quite serious.”
“….”
No, he was serious.
“There’s no need. That woman will destroy herself anyway.”
I had just given Rachel one final chance—the chance to hear the truth and the opportunity to resolve this matter herself.
‘There’s no reason to show such kindness to a woman who wanted to hang me upside down from a tree and burn me alive.’
So that was that. I intended to proceed with my plan as scheduled.
“Claude.”
“Yes?”
“What about the task I gave you?”
“Of course, I completed it perfectly.”
Claude thrust his thumb upward triumphantly.
“I delivered the food to the villagers afflicted with madness, just as the Duchess commanded. They were absolutely delighted.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. The residents of Paeylon Island are generally quite impoverished. I hear that the Lord has monopolized all profitable ventures—fishing, aquaculture, every commercial enterprise worth pursuing.”
“I see. Thank you. You’ve worked hard.”
Kanna Adis offered her gratitude with genuine sincerity.
Claude Azel. It had been an excellent decision to bring along the escort knight that Kalen Adis had gifted her.
‘Kalen Adis, I truly must commend you for this.’
Who could have imagined he would prove so invaluable? In the past, I would have struggled through such tasks alone, laboring without respite.
‘Claude has been working diligently in my stead, even in the rain.’
Then came a knock at the door. As Kanna glanced toward it, Claude spoke quietly.
“The High Priest.”
Kanna cast a suspicious glance. How did he know without even checking?
“Ahem. Might I trouble you to permit my entry, madam?”
The High Priest’s cough sounded from beyond the door. It truly was him.
“What? Do you have eyes attached to the door?”
As Kanna marveled at this, Claude playfully winked at her with a mischievous air.
“But what brings you here? It’s rather late for a visit to a lady’s chamber.”
At his grumbling, Kanna checked her pocket watch. Ten o’clock at night. He was right—it was hardly an appropriate hour for a gentleman to call upon a woman’s private quarters.
Yet Kanna acquiesced.
“Please, come in.”
The door swung open as if he had been waiting, and the High Priest entered.
“Good evening, Duchess.”
“Good evening, High Priest. What brings you at such a late hour?”
“I grew concerned about you, madam. Your spirits seemed troubled.”
He then glanced briefly at Claude before making a courteous request.
“If you would not mind, might I ask your escort to withdraw? I have a matter of considerable importance to discuss with you.”
It was likely something similar to what Rachel had come to discuss.
“Claude, please step outside.”
At Kanna’s gesture, Claude left the room without protest.
Click. The moment the door closed, the High Priest’s lips curled upward.
‘That’s right. The other man was merely in the way.’
The High Priest approached Kanna slowly and began to speak.
“I heard from Rachel about you.”
“That she sensed demonic energy within me?”
“Yes, precisely. You must have been quite startled to hear such a thing so suddenly.”
“Not at all.”
Kanna offered a perfunctory smile.
“I appreciate your concern, but I assure you I am quite well.”
“….”
“Is there anything else you wished to discuss?”
It was a clear-cut answer that drew a firm line.
The High Priest was taken aback by such an ironclad attitude. He had not anticipated such a lukewarm response.
‘Why is she so composed? Shouldn’t she be trembling with fear?’
If she had heard Rachel’s warning, she should be quaking in terror by now.
And why wouldn’t she be?
If things went wrong, Kanna Adis would be hanged upside down from a tree and burned alive.
This was no mere vicious threat, nor some distant affair happening in a faraway land. It was an actual annual event that took place on this very island.
Surely there could be no one who would hear such a thing and not be terrified.
‘Could she be relying on her status as a duchess?’
Rachel’s decision had been made with the High Priest’s approval. Had it been otherwise, she would never have dared to cast suspicion upon a duchess from the Empire.
‘This works out quite well for me in many ways.’
Kanna Adis’s maiden name before her marriage to Valentino was Kanna Adis.
If the daughter of House of Adis were truly a Black Apostle, then House of Adis—that is, Orsini’s influence—would surely diminish.
‘When that wretch falls, I shall deliver proper punishment.’
Those large, powerful hands that had struck her. The hands that had beaten her cheeks until they swelled and her lips split open—those sacrilegious hands, I would have them severed clean off.
Of course, the High Priest stood to gain far more than that.
He was fond of beautiful women. Very fond indeed.
“There is no need to feign strength before me, Duchess. You must be deeply troubled by now.”
If he soothed her when her heart was weakened and promised her that the High Priest’s authority could save her with honeyed words.
‘She will surely yield.’
Kanna was the most enchanting and resplendent beauty he had ever laid eyes upon. He could not possibly let her slip away without at least attempting to touch her.
“I am a proper priest, born and raised within the Divine Temple. I am a human closer to the divine than any other in this world.”
The High Priest subtly extended his hand and placed it upon the back of Kanna’s hand.
“My voice carries far more weight than that of the Lord of Paeylon’s daughter, whom the villagers revere as a saint.”
The moment his plump fingers made contact, Kanna nearly gagged.
She suppressed her revulsion and issued a warning.
“Remove your hand, High Priest.”
“It would be wise for you to think carefully before you answer, Duchess.”
The High Priest grinned wickedly and gripped Kanna’s hand more forcefully. His palm was slick with sweat.
“I can save you from this crisis.”
Then, with his sausage-like thumb, he began to rub the back of her hand.
With that revolting hand, caressing the back of her hand.
“So rely upon me. I shall….”
The moment his hand crept toward her waist. Snap.
Something inside her snapped clean in two. Kanna violently wrenched her hand away from his.
Crack!
….
The back of the High Priest’s hand flushed hot and red where he had been struck.
He stared blankly down at his own hand, then slowly raised his gaze to meet Kanna’s. In that instant, fury blazed in his eyes.
“How dare you lay hands upon the High Priest, madam!”
I knew I shouldn’t have struck the High Priest, yet I harbored not a shred of regret.
I could have tolerated it if he were a cockroach or a centipede, but that revolting touch—I simply could not bear it. I would sooner die.
“It was you, High Priest, who laid hands upon me first.”
“What?”
“I am aware that the Divine Temple’s customs and codes differ from those of the Empire, but surely the bare minimum of propriety must be observed. How dare you lay hands upon the body of a married woman?”
The High Priest then erupted in a harsh, bitter laugh.
“I sought only to offer salvation to one in such pitiful circumstances. I never imagined such ingratitude would be my reward!”
“Salvation?”
I let out a scathing laugh of my own.
“If drawing close to you physically is salvation, then I would sooner descend into the depths of hell.”
“How dare you!”
The High Priest’s face flushed crimson with rage.
“Are you insulting me?”
“And you, High Priest—cease your insults toward me!”
I shouted, and he flinched in surprise. I fixed him with a murderous glare and pressed on.
“You dared to lay hands upon my body, High Priest. Is this how all conduct themselves in the Divine Temple? I intend to lodge a formal complaint against the Divine Temple for this!”
“…!”
The High Priest’s nostrils flared as though he had been struck by words alone.
‘Where does this girl find the audacity to shriek so brazenly!’
He had expected me to cower in fear and desperation, yet instead I was rearing like an unbroken colt!
“Leave my chamber at once. I have no desire to exchange further words with you!”
“I shall lodge my own complaint. This humiliation, I shall never forget!”
The High Priest spun around and stormed from the room. The door slammed shut with such force it seemed it might shatter.
“….”
I collapsed onto the edge of the bed. It felt as though a tempest had just passed through.
What on earth had just happened?
‘Curse it all—quarreling with the High Priest at a time like this.’
Rachel was already spouting nonsense about magic and who knows what else, and now, of all moments, I had to antagonize the High Priest.
But it was already done.
And I had no intention of taking it back.
“Claude Azel.”
The window swung open as though he had been waiting for nothing else. Claude slipped inside with that familiar smile of his, though unfortunately he was once again drenched from the rain.
“Your command, Duchess.”
I gestured wearily toward the door through which the High Priest had departed.
“Apprehend him and render him unconscious.”
“Shall I kill him?”
“No, simply apprehend him.”
“No, just grab it.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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